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Autumn Dreaming

The weather is so bearable now. It isn't even September, yet our nasty heat wave has broken, and we have been enjoying highs in the 80s. Big Sis is back in school, and Little Sis heads to pre-K next week. My head is dancing with visions and smells and textures of apples, crunchy jewel-tones leaves, snuggly cardigans, pumpkin...

I love fall. (In fact, I have a Pinterest board for that... You knew it was coming, didn't you?) And as tolerable as these 85-degree days have been, they are nothing compared to a cool 65-degree day. Or 55-degree day. Or a snowy winter day, but that's another season. (Well, not always, but I do want a chance to enjoy fall first!)

This weekend, I decided to treat the family to a taste of autumn, even if it's a bit early. Pumpkin muffins! Big Sis and I use this recipe, but we make three changes. We substitute coconut oil for vegetable oil, use 3/4 cup all-purpose flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, and use 1/4 cup chocolate chips and 1/4 cup butterscotch chips. This is one of our favorite brunchy things in all the world.

And they are that good. Truly.

I asked the girls for some of their favorite fall book titles. We want to save some for later, since we have another month until the season actually arrives, but here are two of our favorites. I know both of these books are super-popular selections, but when two books are so beloved, there are reasons for that, no?

Leaf Manby Lois Ehlert. Big Sis has fond memories of this book from her preschool days. She was simply enchanted by it. I used it for a storytime at my old bookstore job. I loved making fall crafts with the kids. (Stained glass leaves using crayon shaving, wax paper, and an iron? Awesome sauce.)

Pumpkin Soupby Helen Cooper has been on my mind lately. I am a pumpkin fiend, and pumpkin soup is one of my very, very favorite things. Last year, I made a divine pumpkin soup with a Queensland blue pumpkin. It was magical. And I made large garlic croutons to float in the bowls of creamy soup... I'll share when the time to make it again rolls around.

Comments

Fall is the MOST FANTASTIC of all seasons. Sweater weather :) I love wearing sweaters and jackets. I love pumpkin everything and apple everything. I LOVE IT ALL. And I've never heard of Pumpkin Soup! I'm going to get my hands on that right away :) And I wish I had one of those muffins to eat right this instant!

Yum! And I can't wait for the pumpkin soup recipe! By the way, I noticed that you commented on my post for the Summer Virtual Book Club so I thought I'd tell you the Summer Virtual Book Club is becoming the Virtual Book Club and our first month's selection are Lois Ehlert books. (Was that confusing?) So, I'd love to see your crayon melt projects and you can link them up in September. ;)I'm ready for leaf man and sweaters and all things fall too!

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